7 Tips for Helping Your Church Become More Disability-Accessible
This article is part of the 7 Tips series.
The Paralytic Friend
In Mark 2 we read about a group of friends who were facing some challenges. They had a friend who was a paralytic, and they wanted to get him to Jesus. A large crowd was with Jesus, and this group of friends didn’t have access to the room where Jesus was preaching. Verses 2-4 say, “And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay.”
The friends have similar challenges to the ones we face today: no time (Jesus may only be passing through and there for a short time), no volunteers (it’s up to just the four friends), and no space (they can’t even open the door). But instead of seeing these as hindrances they can’t overcome, the friends use them as motivation. Getting their friend to Jesus is worth the extra steps they need to take.
Recent census data says that two in seven families in the US have a member with a disability—more than 20 percent of the population. And for many of them to have access to Jesus and our churches, we need to take steps like the friends took. Here are seven tips to help your church become more disability-friendly.
1. Apply universal design principles to your buildings and ministry spaces.
Existing church buildings are exempt from the Americans with Disability Act, but churches should still consider accessibility needs when updating their spaces. A ramp is accessible to more people than stairs. Wider stalls in bathrooms with handlebars are helpful for people with a variety of physical disabilities. Having a way to access the stage in a wheelchair allows more people the opportunity to lead the congregation in prayer or sing on the praise team. When evaluating your buildings, think about how to make the spaces accessible to everyone.
Accessible Church
Sandra Peoples
Sharing years of expertise and personal experience as a caregiver, ministry consultant and professor Sandra Peoples shows churches how to remove physical and social barriers to create a welcoming, inclusive space for disability families.
2. Advertise on your website.
Most special-needs families are going to visit your church’s website before they attend in person. They are looking for indications that their family will be welcome. Here are some ideas for communicating that they will be welcome. In the drop-down menu or list of ministries, you can list your special-needs or disability ministry as an option. On the page you create for your ministry, you can give information about the options your church provides, like buddies in the typical children’s ministry classes and if you have specialized classroom options for children, teens, and adults with more significant needs. You’ll want to make clear how they can visit you for the first time. You can supply a contact form or contact information for a ministry leader, or you can make available a registration form they can fill out. If certain classes are offered only at specific times, make that clear.
3. Align your leadership on the importance of being accessible.
Ensure pastors, elders, deacons, and ministry leaders are informed of their role in accessibility for everyone. Leviticus 19:14 says, “You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.” We can apply this verse today by making sure everyone is aware of potential challenges for disability families and how they can help overcome those challenges. Disability ministry isn’t a silo ministry—everyone has a role to play!
4. Access resources for disability discipleship.
Engaging Disability with the Gospel1 is the denominational disability ministry of the PCA, and they offer curriculum resources and training opportunities. Lifeway Resources also has training videos, curriculum options, and more.2 Parachurch organizations like Joni & Friends, Key Ministry, and Ability Ministry provide a variety of resources as well. There are podcasts, conferences, and networking groups that will all help you take the next steps.
Seeing all people as image bearers is the reason we do disability ministry.
5. Ask questions to learn how to help and foster your friendship.
People with disabilities and their family members are the experts in their care. They are happy to answer any questions you have to make sure they are safe, included, and discipled. Don’t assume you know what they may need. A friend in a wheelchair went down front to be prayed over one Sunday, and the person who met her grabbed her hand and immediately began praying for healing. But my friend’s prayer request was that she would be able to find a new job. She was hurt by the assumption that her only request could be for healing. When we ask questions and take time to get to know each family, we grow in our relationship with them as well. We make progress through the five stages of changing attitudes toward people with disabilities as we move past pity and toward friendship.3
6. Appoint an advocate.
In Acts 6, the church was growing, but one group was feeling neglected: the Hellenistic widows. The apostles weren’t being malicious; they were simply so busy with the growth of the church that they didn’t notice a group of people was going unnoticed. The issue was brought to their attention, and they responded by appointing specific men to meet the need. The result: “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem” (Acts 6:7). These men advocated for the Hellenistic widows so that their needs were met. In our churches today, special-needs families also need advocates who can speak up on their behalf and make sure they are included.
7. Affirm the image of God in every person.
Seeing all people as image bearers is the reason we do disability ministry. We can see everyone as God sees them, with the potential of having a relationship with him and with others. Colossians 1:16 says, “All things were created through him and for him.” He created us for himself, for his plan and his praise. In our diversity, even in the diversity of our physical abilities and disabilities, social strengths and deficits, and intellectual challenges and achievements, we are evidence of his love and care for each one.
We can see from the story in Mark of these four friends that we aren’t the first to face the idea of accessibility and being overwhelmed by our limitations. But we aren’t bound by those limitations, because when it comes to reaching people with the gospel, God has shown himself faithful over and over to overcome those limitations and call people to himself. Pray for him to show you the way, meet your needs, and add indispensable members to your church family (1 Cor. 12:22).
Notes:
- https://engagingdisability.org/
- https://www.lifeway.com/en/shop/ministries/special-needs.
- https://www.wheaton.edu/wheaton-center-for-faith-and-disability/disability-foundations/stages-of-attitudes/
Sandra Peoples is the author of Accessible Church: A Gospel-Centered Vision for Including People with Disabilities and Their Families.
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